After 15 years at Google, Sridhar Ramaswamy, one of the most prominent figures in online advertising, believed that the ad-supported model of search — and the need to serve advertisers — was interfering with serving up the best results for the consumer. That led him to ultimately start his own company and create something entirely new, and better — Neeva.
- Media Relations
- Thought Leadership
Defying everything he spent so much time building at Google, Neeva is the world’s only private, ad-free subscription search engine. To help drive awareness of the brand new service, we teamed up to launch its limited beta program and carry that momentum through to its US launch.
Knowing full well the rarity of landing a high-profile story for a stealth startup launching a limited beta, we avoided driving coverage for coverage’s sake — we needed to build a foundation for greater opportunities when Neeva officially launched.
As that foundation was forming, we worked closely with Ramaswamy to develop his narrative, leaning into the tension surrounding one of the most prominent people in the online ads world creating an alternative model for search — without ads.
We kicked off the launch with a deep-dive interview in the New York Times, followed closely by speaking with key journalists and other media, all to pave the way for the announcement of Neeva’s public availability. This not only created buzz but surpassed our targets for the limited beta signups — propelling us into the next phase of our communications program.
In the following 12 months, Neeva was included in more than a hundred stories that spanned from Op-Eds to ongoing commentary and newsjacking on topics such as Section 230 and big tech monopolies.
The team continued the media push, landing coverage in Fast Company, WIRED, Bloomberg TV, and many others. This effort laid the groundwork for continued discussion around the brand, creating a snowball effect of interest among top-tier media and influencers all the way up until the company’s official launch in the summer of 2021.
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